Title: The Truest Story that Never Happened-The Man in the Mirror
Chapter: One
Virgil smiled at the two orderlies as they entered the impeccably white room. The bed was made, all objects arranged neatly on the desk. There was no mess to be seen in sight. "Ooh, a Straitjacket?" He said, folding his arms. "Am I getting a wardrobe upgrade? Does it come with a matching set of pants?"
One of the orderlies, a blue wolf, sighed. "You were violent last time. It's just a precaution." He held out the arms of the straitjacket as the orderly reached for Virgil's paws.
Virgil took a moment to study himself in the mirror. Slightly portly, the rabbit was short for his species, but in other ways he was taller than some of the "superior" species. He had a coy smile on his face, eyes sparkling behind almost rose tinted glasses. Wearing a traditional set of hospital gowns for patients that could be described as "this fuzzy bathrobe ate a set of scrubs", the bunny was rather relaxed.
As the orderlies strapped him into the straitjacket, he sighed. "Isn't this a bit..archaic?"
"It's just procedure" The blue wolf said.
"Made in what, 1950?" Virgil laughed to himself.
The orderly rolled his eyes. With his co-workers help, he guided Virgil out of the room and into a semi-brightly lit hall, flourescent lights gleaming down on a row of rooms identical to Virgil's. The hall was bordered at one end by a dead end, a bay window that looked out onto the parking lot below. The other end held a set of double doors that led out into a dayroom of sorts.
As Virgil was marched through the double doors, he called out into the day room, where several furs could be seen mingling about in various closed cliques. "I'll remember you all fondly at my execution! My request for a last meal has been denied! Don't let me die hungry, bring me sugar carrots!"
The blue wolf looked down."Do you always have to be such a chipper ja-clown?" He asked.
The other orderly was having trouble keeping a straight face.
Virgil smiled. "You're only give a little spark of madness. You musn't lose it....or something like that."
" C.S. Lewis, cute."
"Actually it's Lewis Carrol. Easy mistake."
The dayroom molds itself into a set of doubledoors on either side, which Virgil is taken through and immediately turns right, into a bright office proclaiming 'Dr. Watzlawick.' The rabbit is seated in a chair and the orderlies leave to attend to other duties.
The room is set up much like a library had been lit on fire, and run screaming at 80 miles an hour into a modern office. Books lined the walls, with the more frequent ones being lain around in stacks. The desk, a little messy, was a meeting of both technology, fidget toys, and research notes. An old little radio still clinging to life was sitting in the window, tuned to some local college station playing electro swing.
Virgil smiled. "You remembered my music preference!"
The chair turned around, revealing a small raccoon with glasses on her face. "I did. Tell me, how have you been getting along?" She turned off her laptop and closed it down, leaning forward and clasping her hands in her lap.
Virgil leaned forwards, elbows on his knees, face resting in his paws. "Well it's been okay." He furrowed his brow. "Nights are always the worst time. I hate nights. But then the sun comes up and I feel better. Talking helps. Learning helps more. I've been reading the books on self hypnosis you gave me. They really help. That and the trances we do here are probably the only reason i'm half sane."
Dr. Watzlawick nodded.
"I mean I really don't know how to deal with these thoughts, but I guess talking them out is...helping. I don't really feel a lot like explaining it today, could we just go ahead and begin?"
"Of course!" Dr. Watzlawick agreed, turning the music down to a very low, almost inaudible volume. "So the procedure is the same as always. Sit back in the chair. To go into trance, take three deep breaths."
Virgil took three deep breaths as he slouched in his chair.
"Loose, limp, relaxed, heavy. These are words that describe the state you are going into, Now, become aware of your breathing as you listen to my words. Mind focused on one idea, yet blank. Blank like a piece of paper, locked in around the idea of a piece of paper. It's a lot like the experience of being given an essay question and being completley stumped as to what to write. All these other times your brain rattles on, but today it is very quiet."
Virgil sighed and slumped as his eyelids began to flutter.
"Veyr quiet, very relaxed, you may begin to feel a certain pleasant sensation now, such as sunlight on your fur, or getting a massage, or even the sensation of nothing at all going on. As this feeling moves down your body, starting in perhaps your head and going down and down into the tips of your toes, I'd like you to completley focus on this idea of a blank piece of paper for me, Relax, now, with this blank piece of paper, we're going to write a very specific series of numbers on it, and each number is going to make us more and more relaxed."
Virgil nodded slowly, paws beginning to twitch.
"We're going to start at five, and write the numbers from five to one, very slowly, becoming more and more relaxed. Ready? Relax, now, Five...Five..."
Virgil's pointer finger on his right hand began to twitch slightly as if he were writing.
"Four...more and more relaxed...
Three...deeper and deeper, almost losing grip of the pencil..
Two...great, that's perfect, writing getting lighter and lighter...
One, getting ready to experience..complete..and utter....
Zero...bliss..."
